Borders - Paranormal Database Records

James II

Location: Kelso - Roxburgh CastleType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: James II was killed storming the castle, and it is reportedly his ghost on horseback that still charges around the area.

Location: Linton - Hill on which the church standsType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A man who killed a priest had his life spared on the condition his two sisters build a mound on which a new church would stand. The completed the task, although one of the sisters promptly died upon his release (either from exhaustion or joy).

Linton Wyrm

Location: Linton - Linton HillType: DragonDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This dragon was dispatched by Somerville de Lariston; the brave knight covered his lance with burning pitch, piecing the dragon's armour and cooking it from the inside.

Laird on Horseback

Location: Maxton - Littledean TowerType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Weather Dependent: Stormy nightsFurther Comments: Killed by a local witch, this former owner of the tower can be seen riding his mare, lost on the barren land. Another ghost story from the area says a woman returned from the grave to ensure that her hidden treasure was given fairly to the land owner and a kind serving girl.

Two Walking Women

Location: Maxton - Triangular field in the area (formally?) known as Bowbrig SykeType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Unknown - pre-twentieth centuryFurther Comments: For around a hundred years two ghostly women would walk around this field arm in arm, from dusk until dawn before vanishing. When the road nearby was being repaired, two female skeletons were discovered, after which the ghosts never appeared again.

Sir Walter Scott

Location: Melrose - Abbotsford HouseType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Scott, the Romantic author, can sometimes be seen as he gazes out of the dining room window onto his former lands beyond. In turn, Scott is said to have claimed that the house was haunted by George Bullock, his former assistant

Fairy Queen

Location: Melrose - Eildon HillsType: FairyDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The fairy queen kidnapped the Scottish hero Thomas the Rhymer in this area, returning him from the fairy kingdom in the same place seven (or three) years later. Thomas is reported to still live under the hills, preparing for the day his country needs him once more. The latter part of the same tale is also said about King Arthur.

Footsteps

Location: Melrose - George And Abbotsford HotelType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: Guests in bedrooms on the top floor have reported hearing footsteps above them, even though there is nothing further up.

Evil Monk

Location: Melrose - Melrose AbbeyType: VampireDate / Time: Circa twelfth century?Further Comments: An evil monk returned from the dead as a vampire, leaving his grave at Melrose Abbey to feed at a local nunnery. When the other monks discovered this, the bravest stayed up one night with a large axe, and when the vampire climbed out of its tomb, it was beheaded. The vampire's evil presence still remains in the abbey. The building is also the final resting place of Michael Scot, a great wizard who discovered the secret of flying, and was locally named as single handedly building Hadrian's Wall.

Gifts

Location: Minch Moor - Cheese WellType: FairyDate / Time: Well still presentFurther Comments: The well took its name from the cheese which travellers would leave for the resident fairies.

Patrolling Soldiers

Location: Newstead - General areaType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: These guards are reportedly Roman, and are heard marching across the land after dark.

Sighing

Location: Peebles - Castle Venlaw HotelType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1960sFurther Comments: The sounds of sighing have been reported from one bedroom here - it is thought to be the sound of a guest who leapt from the window in a suicide bid.

Marion Ritchie

Location: Peebles - Cross Keys HotelType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1970sFurther Comments: This ghost could be mistaken for a typical public house poltergeist, though she also likes to talk to guests at the establishment. Room 5 is said to be particularly active.

Location: Peebles - Tibbie Shiel's InnType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1999Further Comments: Determined never to let the business that she started fail, the spirit of Isabelle 'Tibbie' Shiel haunts her inn, sometimes startling guests with her sudden appearances.

Giant's Home

Location: Preston - Edin's FortType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The ruins of this once huge fortress were once home to a giant with three heads, known as Red Ettin. He was killed by a lad who managed to answer the giant's unanswerable riddles.

Human Sacrifice

Location: River Tweed - Waters of the riverType: LegendDate / Time: Once a yearFurther Comments: It is said that once a year the water monster hiding here demanded a single human sacrifice to prevent it from terrorising the local neighbourhood.

Grey Dog

Location: Selkirk - B7009 between town and LangholmType: ShuckDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This phantom dog, slightly larger than a collie and in dire need of a groom, walks silently along this road at dawn and dusk.

Whispers

Location: Selkirk - Marshland east of the townType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A local story says that the swamp has taken at least three lives, and is always on the lookout for more. The dead can be heard talking in hushed tones around the waters.

Murdered Women

Location: Selkirk - Newark CastleType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 13 September (reoccurring)Further Comments: The castle is said to contain the souls of the women and children murdered by brutal soldiers at the site, who are heard once a year.

Presence

Location: Selkirk - Private residence, Chapel StreetType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1958 - 1973Further Comments: A woman living here tolerated a presence which she felt 'observing' her for many years.

Dead Man's Shoes

Location: Selkirk - Shoemakers (no longer standing) and unknown churchyardType: OtherDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A shoemaker in the town once made a pair of shoes for a stranger donned in a black cape. As the mystery man paid, the shoemaker noticed maggots in the purse, and decided to follow him. The figure walked into the local churchyard and vanished into a grave. The shoemaker returned later with some friends and dug the grave up, discovering a rotting corpse wearing a brand new pair of shoes...

Evil Presence

Location: Shankend - Manor houseType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: The spirits of World War One German PoWs which died while being held here are said to create a presence so repelling it drives all away.

Tall Man in a Blue Bonnet

Location: Southdean - Hobkirk graveyardType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Circa 1690sFurther Comments: This male figure with a grim face and a blue bonnet was said to terrify locals with his frequent appearance and sudden vanishing in the church and yard. The reverend Nicol Edgar armed with a Bible and claymore banished the entity.